Italian vice-champion Cucine Lube (Civitanova) has officially signed one of Europe's most promising young middle blockers – Czech national Antonín Klimeš. Thus, the 20-year-old volleyball player will become a teammate of Bulgarian star Aleksandar Nikolov for the next three seasons.
Interestingly, Klimeš faced Alex Nikolov in the 2025 World Championship semi-final, when Bulgaria defeated the Czech Republic and secured a spot in the final against Italy. His performance at the global championship is one of the reasons Lube turned its attention to the young middle blocker.

Born in 2005, Klimeš is 208 centimeters tall and is already part of the Czech Republic's men's national team. He signed a three-year contract with the Civitanova club, which sees him as one of its main investments for the future.
In the 2025/26 season, Klimeš played for VK ČEZ Karlovarsko, led by Italian specialist Stefano Mascia. With the team, he won the title in the Czech Extraliga and also reached the final of the Czech Cup. Two years earlier, he triumphed in the Czech Cup tournament with Black Volley Beskydy (Ostrava).
On the international stage, the young middle blocker already has bronze medals from the U19 European Youth Olympic Festival and the U21 European Championship. This summer, he won silver medals in the European Golden League with the Czech Republic's representative team.
Lube emphasizes that Klimeš attracted the coaching staff's attention with his enormous potential and his performance at the 2025 World Championship. The club is convinced that he possesses all the qualities to establish himself even in his first season with one of the leading teams in the Italian SuperLega.

"I am truly very happy about such an important invitation. I am excited by the opportunity to be part of such a successful club as Lube. I can't wait for this adventure to begin and to meet the fans in Civitanova to fully experience my new challenge," stated the Italian giant's new acquisition.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov